Be Alone. Just don’t be lonely.

Be Alone. Just don’t be lonely.

A man is known by the company he keeps. But what do we know of a man who likes to be by himself?

It was a busy lunch hour at the office cafeteria. The space was sparse and people had been grappling to find a spot to enjoy their meal. The whole of the ambiance was abuzz with shouts, laughter and other coos and aahs. All this while, a parched man made a room for himself at one of the corner seat. A group of noisy people (hereafter referred to as the hippies) had already occupied the rest of this table. This table was adjacent to the one I was seated in. Deeply into his mobile phone, he seemed to be reading something.

There was a cricket match going on and that suddenly grabbed my attention. If I recall, a catch had just been dropped. I was watching the replay when I heard a mild argument going on. The hippies were arguing with this man over something that I failed to understand. I became more observant of the proceedings but still failed to understand the context.

After a squabble, the man decided to vacate the seat and left for his own good. I was fine till here, not judging anyone, especially so, because I had no context of what had just happened.

But then, one of those hippies remarked – ” @#$%, what kinda weird guy he is. @#$%@, he is wandering alone. People who wander alone are always pathetic, useless, saddened with life and ..” and continued with his plethora of insults which the rest of the hippies appeared to be rejoicing.

This was not the first time I was observing this. I have seen many people who just can’t make it alone. I have seen people skipping their lunches just because on that particular day, they couldn’t find a company. I have seen people who are miserable when alone. Although, I don’t really mind their misery, what confounds me is how they judge other people who sometimes (or may be most of the times) prefer to be alone.

I have seen people who abhor the idea of being in solitude. Apparently some people fear to stand by themselves. But, I have seen people been stigmatised for being alone. Of course, this stigmatisation is not an opinion that all the people hold, but I feel most of the people subconsciously practice it.

Solitude is bliss – they’ll never know.

Be alone. Just don’t be lonely!

And even if someone is feeling the blues, the last thing he/she needs is you judging him.